As you all will know we are now awaiting our new arrival. In the mean time we are preparing, so we've bought a 42" crate, with plastic flooring and a mattress and have sourced the correct wire combs and brushes from a dog grooming website at really reasonable prices.

We are now exploring toys. What does your Briard like to play with, especially when a puppy? We are thinking of buying a KONG toy, but which size would you say we get?

Also anyother toys/ games you recommend - i've hear they like to find things, which will be a good game to play.

Any advice on the toys your dog use would be great........

Thanks in advance,

Louise

saintbriardFriend for Life

Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 1004
Location: Coseley nr Wolverhampton

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 1:21 pm

We have bought allsorts of toys but Taras favourite is the cardboard inner off a toilet roll she gets excited when she sees one on the bathroom window ledge and will carry it around for hours.

Kong toys are brilliant you can stuff them with kibble or other goodies and they can amuse them selves for ages but soft toys are also a favourite even if they only last two minutes (lol) chartity shop soft toys are good so long as you get rid of eyes and buttons ect but I also endorse Steve's post tissue paper and card board toilet rolls are a particular favourite, my lot love there balls I buy packets of four from Pets at home they are rubber and last ages even with constant chewing. Trail and error..............have fun

thanks for the prompt replies.. toilet roll inners will be cheap and easy! We may well invest in a KONG toy, and yes you're right its all trial and error. I suppose we just wanted to buy a few toys before the pup is here and place them in his/ her crate.... a little too excited lol

DebsFriend for Life

Joined: 27 Feb 2005
Posts: 836
Location: Wiltshire

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:45 pm

My youngest has always been partial to cardboard boxes - it doesn't matter what size - if one is left around, it is soon taken out to the garden and ripped into shreds. When I get their food delivered, I get about 20 small boxes, and they all get pulled to bits! The cheap ones are always the best! I think she started out on loo roll inners

_________________Debs, Della, Dibley, Demi and Desmond (not forgetting my special girl Darcy and Dexter the most chilled boy ever who will be in my heart forever)

Last edited by Debs on Wed Oct 06, 2010 10:10 pm; edited 1 time in total

Carol & DillonFriend for Life

Joined: 06 Nov 2009
Posts: 1036
Location: Sutton Coldfield

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:47 pm

Dillon's favourite toys for the first few months were plastic plant pots. We got though about 20 for them, small ones at first, also plastic bottles but don't leave the tops on or the plastic collar, Dillon soon worked out how to get them off.

Soft squeaky toys, and a Ny-bone to chew on to help with teething, make sure to start with the puppy ones, but they soon grow into the stronger ones.

I'm getting so excited for you,

CarolineFriend for Life

Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 885
Location: Hampshire

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:49 pm

Bo's favourite is his boomer ball. Plays for hours with it and it's as old as him (but more tired ) X

_________________

Shani LunnonFriend for Life

Joined: 12 Nov 2004
Posts: 662
Location: Chard Somerset

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:58 pm

Yes small plastic plant pots and plastic pop bottles with labels and tops removed, are a must. Hours of fun, but be careful when the plastic gets jagged throw them away and give new ones.
Mind you very noisey.

I have always given mine plenty of cardboard boxes, loo roll inners etc. They make a fantastic mess but take minutes to tidy up. I buy puppy nylabones but soon progress to large dog size as they grow so fast. It is as everyone has said trial and error. Like children what you think they would like they proberbly hate!!!!
If you find yourself over in Dorset and fancy meeting up on the beach or the forest, drop me a line and I'll introduce the girls to you.
Hope all go's well and the pup soon gets you all trained.

_________________Jenny, Poppy and Rosie the Goldie, rip

loujenFriend in Training

Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 25
Location: Southampton, HANTS

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:01 pm

it appears the 'free' toys are the best hehe... we have bought some teething keys and a soft toy so far...

.... oh and will have to save the loo rolls!

Jenny thanks for the offer that will be great.. hopefully we'll have a puppy in a couple/ few months time. Would be nice for our dog to meet another of his kind

veroniqueFriend for Life

Joined: 30 Mar 2008
Posts: 737
Location: scotland

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:50 pm

you must be so excited by now
i remember how it was with us....i was so clucky it's funny now but at the time
i whent to all the charity shop around our town and got tonnes of soft toys,some we still have but most get destuffed(make sure the stuffing goes in the bin not eaten some are dangerous)
Brioche is not a fetcher so the tennis balls did not work
but the big boomer ball are great(if a bit pricey)indestructable(no kidding)
the amount of foot balls we got that only last minutes
the small plastic bottles are great and the tree branches are great for a chews too(see Nero's pictures )
we're getting very exicted for you please tell us all x

Tilly is just 1 now and she loves toilet roll tubes but we have invested in quite a few from Pets at Home!

We love the Kong, and so does she - it's a great distracting toy to be given at specific times. We have also gone through several of the rope knots but found that she just chewed them in half so her favorite toy is the ball version. Fun to chase and fetch and withstands very strong jaws!

Cuddly toys don't stand a chance, nor do footballs!

L, R and T x

loujenFriend in Training

Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 25
Location: Southampton, HANTS

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:12 pm

Thanks all who have replied, its given us some very good (even if some are unusual) ideas for our pup's toys.

Yes Veronique very exciting times, ... looking forward to our camping holidays next year with the new addition 'X' (whatever he/ she is going to be called.. can't tell yet! its a secret hehe)

This is a great site with some fantastic support and I'm sure will definately be useful when our pup arrives !

saintbriardFriend for Life

Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 1004
Location: Coseley nr Wolverhampton

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:14 pm

Make sure you get a good toy box.At least two or three times a day Bisto empties all the toys out and then spends the next half hour trying to eat the box.

No we never get sick of your posts, ask as many questions as you can. We are here to help.
You are doing all of the right things, and i'm sure your baby will settle in and have a fantastic home with you.
Ours liked a nylon hand brush as well(soft bristle)

_________________Jayne & Neil
at Salieri

jennyMaster Friend

Joined: 12 Oct 2009
Posts: 212
Location: christchurch dorset

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:05 pm

Hi Lucy

the chewing must come from Tilly's mum, as she has the same father as Poppy (Balam) and believe it or not Poppy still has the toy pink poodle that Carol sent her with and she will be 2 in December. Neither her nor my previous Briard Ivy have been destructive and yet they have both had plenty of soft toy's and tough chewing toy's, so it must be in the genes!!! I know that her mother happens to be as mad as a march hare and I keep pleading with Jean to supply the other brain cell. Whatever they do they are a fantastic breed to live with as you certainly are kept on your toes

_________________Jenny, Poppy and Rosie the Goldie, rip

Lucy&RobFriend in Training

Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 46
Location: Liverpool

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:20 pm

Hi Jenny,

That is impressive that Poppy's pink poodle has lasted so long! I think she needs to give Tilly a few lessons.

Tennis balls are excellent at withstanding chewing and she just loves to play fetch! Although you have to throw the ball quite close to the ground otherwise she has no idea where it's gone! (that is definitely a brain cell thing!) But she does bring the ball promptly back and demands for it to be thrown again!

They are just the most brilliant breed, she makes us laugh all the time

saintbriardFriend for Life

Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 1004
Location: Coseley nr Wolverhampton

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:31 pm

LOL Lucy and Rob Bisto is just the same we have to make sure he sees where the ball goes to otherwise he has no idea

We can't give Dillon tennis balls he can split one in 5 minutes, I think I'm going to get a boomer ball for him it's just the thing for a Christmas pressy.

jennyMaster Friend

Joined: 12 Oct 2009
Posts: 212
Location: christchurch dorset

Posted:
Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:02 pm

Poppy constantly bites down on tennis balls until they split, but she will still run after a fragment of one. She has a thick plaited rope that I bought at Richmond Camp show and she adores it.
At present the favourite toy is furry, bushy tailed, climbs trees and runs along the garden fence. Although at nearly 10 Rosie is definately faster than Poppy, think it has something to do with a squirrel actually falling out of a tree a couple of years ago!!!!

_________________Jenny, Poppy and Rosie the Goldie, rip

veroniqueFriend for Life

Joined: 30 Mar 2008
Posts: 737
Location: scotland

Posted:
Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:09 am

wow is it only brioche that does mot fetch
not even a stick fom the woods
well i tell a small lie,he will fetch once and then look at you has to say "what are you doing this for??"and leave it on the ground
when he was teething he would bring sticks home and chew them to nothing but that has gone now
Carol the boomer ball is brilliant and if you can get a good size they kind of hurd it too at times it's such good exercise

_________________Brioche and co...

loujenFriend in Training

Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 25
Location: Southampton, HANTS

Posted:
Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:40 pm

what size 'Boomer Ball' would you recommend?? I beleive they come in various sizes

CarolineFriend for Life

Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 885
Location: Hampshire

Posted:
Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:19 pm

Bo has the 10 inch one.... they're not a fortune, so if you buy the largest and the smallest you'll have it covered - they last forever! Plenty on ebay at the moment X

_________________

lulu&lexi's mumMaster Friend

Joined: 10 May 2008
Posts: 439
Location: Harrogate, Yorkshire

Posted:
Thu Oct 07, 2010 4:50 pm

Lulu, as lots of others have said, loved plastic plant pots as a puppy. Unfortunately it didn't worry her if they still had the plants in - she soon managed to empty them then took them off for a good chew, leaving poor plant to cock up its roots and die!

Veronique - Brioche isn't the only Briard who won't fetch, Ross doesn't either. Ross didn't come to us until he was 5, so I wonder whether it's a game they need to learn when they're young?

_________________Pauline, Lulu and Lexi, and always in our hearts our special boy Ross

veroniqueFriend for Life

Joined: 30 Mar 2008
Posts: 737
Location: scotland

Posted:
Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:48 pm

lulu&ross's mum wrote:

Veronique - Brioche isn't the only Briard who won't fetch, Ross doesn't either. Ross didn't come to us until he was 5, so I wonder whether it's a game they need to learn when they're young?

oh we tried but he's just not interested he will pick up what ever ONCE and that is it, then is the look off "can you not pick it up your self "
he does not carrie branches for a long time either like during a walk in the woods
but saying that you give him a toy and he delicatly pull the steaching out and bye bye stuffing
now he has been on a BARF diete since a puppy and i wonder if that is why he react different with toys
he's favorite food is rabitts and skins that like the toys

_________________Brioche and co...

Lynne HutchinsonFriend in Training

Joined: 10 Oct 2009
Posts: 34
Location: Cornwall

Posted:
Tue Nov 02, 2010 8:13 pm

Eden and Veran are big fans of kitchen and toilet roll inners too. I sometimes wonder if that's the real reason they always accompany me to the loo........in the hope that I will finish the current roll and give them the cardboard?!
They both love the kong airball rugby ball (think supposed to be american football) but the sole purpose for Eden is to skin it and then put a hole in it too. We have found some indestructible toys (solid rubber bones etc) but these have absolutely no appeal at all.........if it can't be destroyed there is no point in its' existence

saintbriardFriend for Life

Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 1004
Location: Coseley nr Wolverhampton

Posted:
Tue Nov 02, 2010 8:19 pm

Oh Bo!!! Bisto and Magoo told us all about coming to visit you but never told me you had a 10 inch one !!!!

Mine as puppies and now love a big cardboard box make sure no staples in it. They would drag it round hide in it chew it jump on it,hours of fun till bored then chewed into tiny pieces lots to clean up but happy sleepy puppies so worth it.

_________________Brenda Kari-Ann Rigsby and Elsa

CarolineFriend for Life

Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 885
Location: Hampshire

Posted:
Thu Nov 04, 2010 4:22 pm

MBJ says he's importing a bigger one from America... and 'how wude'! ((o))

_________________

Linda and JasperFriend for Life

Joined: 28 Aug 2004
Posts: 1865
Location: UK birmingham

Posted:
Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:52 pm

Jasper used to love flower pots. plastic bottles. ropes etc when he was small. teddies from the charity shop lasted a few mins.
he came with a tennis ball and a four paws ball with bell inside. we have got a new one. but they have stopped making them now. if he does not have a tennis ball he gets dippresed.
I got him a food ball you put buscuits in it and they roll it around to get the bicys. bit noisey too. but lots of fun.
He loves the roll inside of the cling film. cardboard boxes. they do make a mess but he realy enjoys it. who needs fancy toys.
He jas rubber bones kong, boomer ball and lots of things like that but loses interest and wants his ball.
He love christmas we always wrap a buscuit up in xmas paper and he loves it.

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